Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry Murals” is a monumental 27-panel mural at the Detroit Institute of Arts that portrays the geological, technological, and human history of Detroit. Rivera was a great admirer of American innovation and both celebrates and questions its impact on society. He depicts the enormity and complexity of an automotive factory and presents those who work there as heroes who work with integrity and nobility. Watch Salvador Salort-Pons, Director at the Detroit Institute of Arts, explore what makes “Detroit Industry Murals” a masterpiece. Video by Bank of America. Created by Smarthistory.

Joan Mitchell’s “Low Water” is an abstract oil painting featuring vibrant colors, dynamic brushwork and dripping fields of paint that draw you in both physically and emotionally. Influenced by the color and beauty of her surroundings, Mitchell often painted complex, captivating landscapes that were extensions of her own memories. Watch Eric Crosby, Director at Carnegie Museum of Art, explore what makes “Low Water” a masterpiece. Video by Bank of America. Created by Smarthistory.

Mark Bradford’s “150 Portrait Tone” is a mural-sized composition that the artist conceived after the fatal shooting of Philando Castile by a Minnesota police officer in July 2016. The title “150 Portrait Tone” refers to the name and color code of the pink acrylic used throughout the painting. Like the now-obsolete “flesh” crayon in the Crayola 64 box, the color “portrait tone” carries inherent assumptions about who is being depicted and presents a sobering commentary on power and representation. Video by Bank of America. Created by Smarthistory.

“Protractor, Variation I” by Frank Stella is an acrylic and graphite painting on canvas at the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Created in 1969, the painting is 16 feet wide by 8 feet tall, and is composed of rhythmic bands of color in the shape of a protractor. This work is one of nearly 100 paintings in Stella’s Protractor series. Discover more reasons why this is a masterpiece with Franklin Sirmans, Director of the Pérez Art Museum Miami. Created by Smarthistory.

“Trane” by William T. Williams is a monumental abstract acrylic on canvas created in 1969. It exemplifies Williams’s groundbreaking approach to color, form and subject. The forms repeat and multiply and the lines, shapes and vibrant colors create a visual rhythm similar to a jazz composition. A work of art that bridges the personal and political, “Trane” exemplifies Williams’s storied career and his role in radically reshaping the field of abstraction. Watch Thelma Golden, Museum Director and Chief Curator at The Studio Museum in Harlem, explores what makes “Trane” a masterpiece. Video by Bank of America. Created by Smarthistory.

Yayoi Kusama’s “Pumpkin” (2016) is an 8-foot tall sculpture and installation at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Covered in the artist’s signature polka-dot effect, it embodies Kusama’s lifelong fascination with pumpkins and her investigation into themes of nature, fantasy, life and death. Join Melissa Chiu, Museum Director at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, to explore what makes “Pumpkin” a masterpiece. Video by Bank of America. Created by Smarthistory.